


To Be Free, Free As A Bird

by Speckleflower



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, Peacock Miraculous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25321696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Speckleflower/pseuds/Speckleflower
Summary: So, this is my take on what happened after Gabriel fixed the peacock miraculous (or just what I wish could happen), and I wanted an excuse to write happy Mayura dancing around the lair uwu
Relationships: Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur
Comments: 17
Kudos: 70
Collections: GabeNath Book Club and Art Club Server





	To Be Free, Free As A Bird

Gabriel Agreste breathed in. Breathed out. Waiting in silence with bated breath. The air released from his mouth seemed to develop a consciousness of its own and fly around the empty walls of the lair, resulting in a sigh, as if the room itself had been holding its breath and was now letting it out, as if it knew something he didn’t, something that would happen very soon. Or in a while, he didn’t know. He never really knew anything for sure anymore. He shivered, feeling small and insecure. The room in which he had connected with half of Paris’ population, albeit not for the best reason, had always felt to him like a safe place he could go. But now it was just hostile, unwelcoming, cold.

Suddenly, he felt a warmth blossom in his hand, almost too uncomfortably warm against his skin. He jerked his gaze down, a piece of unkempt hair grown unruly skimming past his eyelashes; he brushed it aside hastily. What he saw made his jaw drop and his eyebrows almost disappear into the blonde tangle of his locks. It wasn’t just what he saw that was confirming his suspicion though; based on that alone he would have been sceptical, unsure. What really confirmed it for him was what he felt. It was difficult to describe, but it just felt… whole. The power was the same, but it wasn’t fragmented like cracked glass, all over the place and disjointed like before. It was  _ healthy _ . And as he held the peacock miraculous up to the light and beheld intricate patterns in a slightly darker shade than the feathers of the peacock tail-resembling brooch, curling over the metal, sparkling where they had never been before, he knew that he had succeeded. It was fixed. He had done it.

“Master!” Nooroo exclaimed excitedly from his perch on Gabriel’s shoulder, wings fluttering and brushing his neck slightly, making him twitch. “I know, Nooroo,” Gabriel murmured, turning the brooch over and over in his hand, that was no longer a flat wash of dull, muted colours, but alive with indigos and violets.

Duusu wasn’t outside her miraculous- she needed to be inside for the ritual to work, but Gabriel could feel her energy yearning to get out. However, he would wait until Nathalie came. He quickly whipped out his phone and his fingers flew across the screen, typing just two words, hesitating for barely a second before pressing enter- whatever she was doing, she would want to be here.

_ It’s fixed. _

He didn’t know how this would change things. All he knew was that Nathalie would no longer get ill from transforming. That was all that mattered at the moment.

The first thing he saw when she entered the lair was her eyes. Shining. Hopeful. Suns in the darkness that was the space next to the elevator- the lights were dim, as always. But he could sense the apprehension behind her irises. He knew that was because the last time he had tried to do this, he had failed. The miraculous had not been fixed, and on the contrary, it had made her worse. He had insisted that she stop work for at least a few days- it had been that bad, and she had agreed reluctantly. But it really had been terrible. Gabriel had hated himself after that. On reconsidering, he already had before; the self-loathing had just intensified.  _ He _ had allowed Nathalie to use the miraculous in the first place, and he had made it worse.

But this time was different- he knew it. Apparently, Nathalie could also sense the sureness in his gaze as she approached him, heeled feet making barely any sound on the lair floor, as if it dampened all noise. She came to stand next to him; a question hung in the air. He spoke, punctuating the silence with a wavering voice. “I- I think I did it. I know it. But…” There was one thing left to do. “It’s up to you. It might go like last time, but…”

“Gabriel, it wasn’t your fault. I trust you.” she countered, reassuringly.

He held out the hand which the peacock miraculous rested in, and during the brief moment their fingers touched as she picked it up, he felt a tingle of excitement through them. Their touch lingered, for a moment, and he almost sighed as the contact broke. She pinned the miraculous tentatively to her chest with shaking hands, and Duusu appeared.

Duusu looked struck dumb as she materialised, then her face lit up as she exclaimed, “My lady, my miraculous- it’s fixed! It’s been so long since I felt like this!” Nathalie didn’t say anything, but the beam that lit up her face said more than words could ever get across. And Gabriel’s heart lifted to see her finally free of pain, for all fear to melt away as she experienced what wearing a miraculous was supposed to feel like. Her face mirrored Duusu’s as her smile widened, and just like that, the atmosphere in the room was light again, no longer tense and weighed down.

Duusu flew into her cheek, nuzzling Nathalie happily, and for a beautiful moment kwami and holder were in harmony, as they would be for so long after. Then, Nathalie opened her eyes, and her gaze came round to his, and softened, eyes brimming with gratitude, glimmering with unspilt tears. To his surprise, she launched herself into him and wrapped her arms around him, clutching him tight, whispering, “Thank you, thank you,” over and over again. Stunned by her show of affection, he held her head in his arms and stroked it gently, and her unspoken gratitude resonated like a unified heartbeat between them. Then, she suddenly started to shake, and with a jolt he realised she was crying. “Nathalie, don’t cry!” he exclaimed.

She looked up at him, and smiled softly. “Sorry, I’m fine.” She took a breath. “It’s just… I never knew… every time I used the miraculous, it was always a deal of trying to get something done before I became unable to, before I got sick, but now… this is what it’s like to wear a miraculous, for real.” He nodded.

“Miss Nathalie, do you want to transform?” Duusu squeaked, and Gabriel drew Nathalie away so he was holding her by the shoulders, then he let go.

Nathalie glanced at him, a question on her face. The fact that she did this sent a pang of guilt through him.

_ You don’t have to ask. Not that you ever really listened to me- you’re too strong minded. And that’s what I- what I admire about you. _

Even though he hadn’t spoken, she nodded, the liquid in her eyes shimmering in the dim light. “Duusu, spread my feathers.” Her voice was a calming murmur.

Gabriel watched, allowing himself to feel a flash of pride as her transformation washed over her. As if her previous hindrance- the sickness caused by her broken miraculous- had held her back, her appearance was different, her bun became undone, releasing a swathe of beautiful dark hair that was immediately washed with vibrant blue, in the same process growing to waist length, no longer in one shade but mellowed and streaked with highlights and darker shades. She struck a powerful pose after an elaborate twirl, fan spread in hand, dark blue dress caressing her legs.

She shot him a smile with teasing eyes, flashing perfect white teeth, and he quickly shut his mouth, realising that it had been hanging open for… he didn’t know how long. He flicked his eyes to the side, gaze immediately being met by Nooroo’s slightly mischievous one, which didn’t help. He automatically brought a hand to the back of his neck, looking away. But he couldn’t stop himself from looking again.

Mayura looked like a child who had just received a new toy, dancing and leaping around, dress which had once hung so limp alive and flowing. The euphoria emanating from her lit up the room and punctuated Gabriel’s miraculous, and he felt the throb of her rejoice bubbling in his chest; it was delicious, and he shared in it as she spun. Any other time it would have jarred him to not be feeling the negative emotions he always felt, the only side of the spectrum he opened himself up to. On the contrary, this was the opposite. But for so long he had wallowed in the collective grim atmosphere of the house, felt the despair radiating from Nathalie all the time, and a similar feeling coming from him, even from Adrien, who had noticed their sullen moods and grown concerned for Nathalie as she became more ill, and taking days off became frequent for her. This atmosphere had been growing worse day by day as Nathalie still longed to help him, and he forbade her from using the peacock miraculous. But she used it anyway. And he had felt responsible. Because he was. She only did it to help him. He had no right to ruin her life like this.

But with the translated version of the grimoire they had acquired, he had crafted the potion that would fix the peacock miraculous, and all the while that had taken he had been overwhelmed by guilt and concern for what he- it was his fault alone- had done to Nathalie. In the end though, the potion had worked and the peacock miraculous had been fixed, it was eminent.

The past year he had been ruled by Hawkmoth. But now he allowed himself to have a glimmer of hope, more than that actually, let it flood through the barriers he had erected over the past year, let it take him over as the sun rose and streamed through the window, warm for once, gently heating his face as he watched his- assistant? That word felt wrong. She was more than that. She meant so much more than that to him.

Why did he feel this way? Well, for one, she was brilliant as an assistant. She could multitask so efficiently, and she followed his every order without question- the company related orders, anyway. Others, which were barely orders but merely requests, for example self-care, she tended to ignore. It was… annoying, to say the least, frustrating and stressful to be precise, to see her throwing her life away for him. Something that just added to the effects of this was that she was such a workaholic, it was unhealthy at this point. Well, now he considered it, Gabriel was also quite  _ attached _ to his work, but he wasn’t ill like her! And whether she could use the peacock miraculous- she was way too strong minded to do what he said on that. That was useful sometimes- rarely- but still sometimes. When he was blinded by his need to see what he should do, a strategy to go about something, and of course on heroes’ day, when she had saved him, she had been the intelligent one. She was an incredible help to his company- she carried out consults with clients efficiently and effectively, most times disputes didn’t even have to come to him because she would have sorted it out already with the utmost professionalism. She handled Adrien’s schedule so well, had even taught him before he went to school. Gabriel realised that she had been more of a parent to his son than he had. There were so many other reasons he could pick from to demonstrate why Nathalie was so important in his life.

Mayura laughed in pure pleasure, and Gabriel felt her newfound joy in using the peacock miraculous- a joy which she had never been able to associate with it before. She wanted to go out and experience this world, open to her now. And for once, she actually sought his permission, because she wasn’t driven by the desperate need to accomplish what he wanted, to complete what they wanted to do before she got too ill to continue, wracked by coughs that shook her whole body, and she had to detransform, shivering in his arms, and-

He pushed that out of his mind, because it was all over. That would never happen again. Her glittering eyes met his, and he nodded easily. She backed up and broke into a sprint, pushing up, twisting in mid-air and flying through the gap in the middle of the flower designed window, disappearing out of view.

He followed suit quickly and without hesitation. Nooroo flew around him in circles rapidly as he said “Nooroo, dark wings rise!”, barely able to wait for his transformation to wash over him, and he pumped his arms and threw himself out of the window after Mayura.

He landed on a rooftop and saw that she had stopped on the next building, partially turned back. She smirked, eyes playful. Then she took off, shooting a glance back over her shoulder. The message was clear: C _ atch me if you can! _

He followed.

Her dress streamed out behind her beautifully, feathers alive, catching the sunlight. She laughed as she ran, so smoothly it looked like she was  _ flying _ , the sound carrying on the wind, hair flowing out behind her.

Hawkmoth thought he had almost caught up to her when she suddenly pivoted and ran off to the left, he followed her with his eyes in surprise after registering this, turning his attention back in front of him and only just managing to avoid careening into a wall, swerving sharply and not at all gracefully.  _ If you want to play like that.  _ With a small smile, eyebrows narrowed, he dropped down to another lower rooftop, making sure she hadn’t seen, and changed direction swiftly. He came up right next to an unsuspecting Mayura, and grabbed her arm, steadying her when she stumbled in shock. She accepted his hand and then they ran in silence. She recovered quickly, elegantly leaping over gaps, leading him as he eased up, tension that had built over the last year draining away as they ran with no worries, free at last.

She spoke, “Is this- is this what it’s like?”

“Yes. Well, I don’t get out much...” he amended.

She punched his arm lightly, “Old man.”

He laughed, unable to remember the last time he had felt this happy.

After a while, breathless from running, but exhilarated, two people came to a stop on a deserted building and flopped down at its edge, feet hanging off the roof. The woman’s head lay on the man’s shoulder, his head leaning on top, their arms intertwined, and they rested in peace. The wind ruffled the woman’s hair, a cool, refreshing breeze on their faces. And the sun’s hopeful rays warmed their faces as it set over the horizon.

Two people sat on top of one of the rooftops of Paris, hand in hand, gazing ahead into the sunset at what the world had in store.


End file.
